While not always a fan of DJ-mixed CDs, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Peter Rauhofer’s LIVE AT ROXY series. Through four volumes, they’ve always managed to capture both the peak and the afterhours groove on each disc, maintaining a wonderfully New York style and attitude, and most of all, included a plethora of undiscovered gems. With his latest installment, Rauhofer is seen (or should I say “heard”) evolving from a simplistic tribal sound into a more electroclash-meets-late-night-gay-bar feel. Here’s how it sounds.
Disc One goes for the gut with a deep, dark underground vibe. The vocals are sparse and fit the mood perfectly; those looking for Deborah Cox screaming about a lost love should look elsewhere. ATFC’s Falldown is the perfect example of that new sound emerging from Mr. Rauhofer’s booth. It’s deliciously European in its key structure and synth work yet holds onto a hard, percussive groove that is a staple of New York City. On the other hand, after listening to Bang 04 by Johnny Vicious, you may feel like it's 1998 again in the city! This hot, dubby remake of the Todd Terry’s classic house tune will take you back to the days of neverending builds and explosive crashes – think Tim Rex’s Relentless. Disc One also gives some their first listen of Peter’s mixes for Suzanne Palmer and Avenue D, both well worth the purchase price.
Disc Two doesn’t maintain that same energy and cohesive vibe that the first disc did and that’s probably due to it being the “vocal” disc. Still, the tracks speak for themselves. Most will run out and buy this for Madonna’s Mother & Father mixed by (you guessed it) Peter Rauhofer. While I’m one of the biggest Maddy fans around, this mix wasn’t doing it for me. For one, the original wasn’t quite my cup of tea and it’s remix just doesn’t translate well to a dancefloor. I don’t want to get my groove on to a
nearly spoken vocal about how hard her childhood was with her parents; a dub would have been much better. Having said that, Rauhofer’s mix definitely deserves a listen (even if only once). The drums are fierce and the Vogue samples near the end kick things up a notch.
But it wasn’t just Madonna’s massive presence that fills Disc Two, here you’ll find Rauhofer’s own mix of the already classic How Would U Feel along with mixes for Seal, Offer Nissim ft. Maya, and the wonderful vocal track from Morillo that seemed to come out of nowhere near the end of the CD. While Disc Two doesn’t stand on it’s feet as well as the first, it’s easily better than most out there.
